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Falcons start season with a victory over Wolverines

Falcon Felipe Marmolejo, right, has a close encounter with Friday Harbors Kevin OConner during Saturdays 3-0 win over the Wolverines. At 6 p.m. Friday, March 14, the team hosts Bonney Lake at Waterman Field.

So when the Falcon boys soccer team celebrated the seasons start by beating Friday Harbor 3-0 Saturday, they met Goal 1  win their first game.

They did it with verve and smooth execution while taking advantage of their opponents slow start out of the gate.

Friday Harbor took the loss as a learning experience. Competing against a larger school offers several advantages, Wolverine coach Andy Duke said.

Playing the Falcons on their field forces our guys to play a tougher opponent than we might find in our own league, he said. We had a great game last year when they traveled north.

It was quickly apparent the Falcons were in the hunt for goals  Cole Erikson scored with a lazy, soft arcing kick that bounced off the far post and went in with 38:07 left in the first half.

South Whidbey appeared steady, confident and poised in their first game, especially when Marshall Banks scored to make it 2-0 a few minutes later.

But then the Wolverines, led by Louis Paul and Felipe Lopez, toughened up their stance for a solid defensive performance until, with 10 seconds left in the game, Falcon Patrick Myatt sewed up scoring with a sneak attack from the left for a curving rounder into the pocket.

Friday Harbor played very well, you have to give them credit, Falcon coach Joel Gerlach said. Theyve improved a lot since last year, but we had some ambitious young men who made the most of their opportunities.

Needing 10 practices before the first game, five South Whidbey starters were prevented by school rules from playing.

Gerlachs only concern was getting more shot attempts.

It was a learning time for both teams and a chance for us to see how well we could do against an aggressive team like the Wolverines, he said.

Assistant coach Dimitri Michaelides agreed, noting the difficulties playing on a smaller than normal venue; Waterman Field is roughly 8 percent shorter in length and 10 percent less in width than a standard soccer layout.

However there were some moments of great play, he said. Goalies Ian Marsanyi and Dylan Fate never let anything get past them.

In fact, both were awfully quick off the mark, allowing a faster transition to the offense.

We thought we played well; a good first outing, Fate said. We had to force ourselves to slow down a bit so the pace worked for the way we play the game.

In the second period, Fate was assigned a midfield slot. I want to try a little bit of everything this year, he said.

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